Kegels, Demystified: How, When and Why to Do Them

These silly-sounding pelvic floor exercises are key to preventing incontinence — plus Kegels can lead to a shorter labor and a faster post-birth recovery.

Trinette Reed/Stocksy

Pushing your baby through your pelvis and into the world is demanding not only on you, but also on your pelvic muscles — which have to stretch to proportions previously unimaginable. So even if you’ve never thought much about them (or maybe never even realized you had any), you’ll want to pay attention to your pelvic muscles during and after pregnancy. And not only do they play an important role in delivery, but they keep your urine from leaking when you cough or laugh (a skill set you’re only likely to notice when it’s gone).

Fortunately, there’s one exercise that experts agree can help prevent problems with your pelvic muscles after birth and even make your labor go a little smoother: Kegels. If you do only one exercise during pregnancy, make it this one.

What’s a Kegel?

Named after gynecologist Arnold Kegel, these exercises engage and strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, which hang like a sling between your hips to support your bladder, uterus and other organs and control the flow of urine and the contraction of the vagina and anal sphincter. The goal of a Kegel is to contract the pelvic floor muscles for short periods of time, completing several short sets a few times a day (more on just how much below). The exercise is fast and free, and once you know how to do them, you can do them just about anywhere — when you’re stuck at a red light, waiting in line or watching TV.

The Benefits of Kegels

As your baby puts on the pounds inside your uterus during pregnancy, your pelvic floor muscles have to support more and more weight. Sometimes, they’re not fully up to the job. If you notice occasional urine leaking in your third trimester — when you cough, sneeze or try to go on a jog — that’s because your over-burdened pelvic floor muscles aren’t doing as good a job as usual at supporting your bladder.

How Do I Find My Pelvic Floor Muscles?

If you’re not sure where to find your pelvic floor muscles, try stopping urination mid-stream. The muscles you’re tightening to do this are the same ones you’ll want to contract when you do a Kegel. But once you find them, don’t repeatedly engage those muscles while you’re urinating — this can actually lead to urinary incontinence, urinary tract infections and other problems.

If you’re still not sure you’ve found the right muscles, put a clean finger in your vagina: If you’re doing a Kegel correctly, the vagina should contract around your finger (and your thighs, stomach and butt muscles shouldn’t move at the same time).

Still having trouble? Don’t hesitate to ask your healthcare practitioner to coach you next time you’re having a pelvic exam — that’s what she’s there for!

How Often Should I Do Kegels?

Start out by tightening the muscles for about five seconds, then relaxing for five seconds. Do it four or five times in a row, a few times a day.

As it becomes easier, start holding the muscles tight for longer — working up to 10 seconds at a time — and doing more repetitions.

Ultimately it’s recommended that you do three sets of 20 Kegels every day.

Don’t get frustrated if you’re nowhere close to that goal when you start: Remember, these are muscles like any other in your body. With time and consistent, mindful work, they can only get stronger.

When Should I Do Kegels?

It’s never too early to start doing Kegels — but the earlier and more regularly you practice them throughout pregnancy, the greater the benefits.

After you’ve delivered, you can restart your Kegel routine immediately. Make it a habit to do them regularly (while, say, you’re feeding your baby) to stimulate circulation, promote healing and improve muscle tone. Don’t worry if you can’t feel yourself doing them initially — the perineum will be numb after birth, but feeling will return gradually over the next few weeks. In the meantime the work is being done even if you can’t feel it.

You should continue doing Kegels for at least a few months after birth to help your muscles get back in shape. In fact, many healthcare practitioners recommend doing Kegels indefinitely throughout life to maintain pelvic floor health.

How to Make Kegels Fun

If you’re having trouble remembering to do your daily Kegels (or they just seem like a drag), there’s no better way to mix business with pleasure than performing Kegels during sex — which can double the pleasure for you and your partner. Your partner can also use his or her fingers to check whether you’re tightening the right muscles.

If you’re looking for ways to make Kegels more fun on your own, try a smartphone app. A number of options send you daily reminders, track your exercising and even provide musical routines for your pelvic floor workouts.

There are also devices known as vaginal exercisers that claim to help you isolate the pelvic floor muscles or work them for you. Some are shaped like cones and are held in place in your vagina by your tightened muscles. Others provide electrical stimulation to the muscles. While they might be fun to try, there’s no evidence that they work any better than contracting the muscles on your own (in fact, some studies have found them less effective). What’s more, they could introduce bacteria into the vagina — so skip them if you’re pregnant or recovering from childbirth, and check with your doctor first before trying one for the first time.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You're Expecting. Health information on this site is based on peer-reviewed medical journals and highly respected health organizations and institutions including ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), as well as the What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff.

The material on this website is provided for educational purposes only and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, or in place of therapy or medical care. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy.